SmoothCloud

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including Estate Agent Covent Garden and Estate Agent London. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

Mystery Religion, The Hellenistic period

2005-03-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

In the Messenian town of Andania mysteries were celebrated

John Ii

2005-03-17T15:52:00.000-08:00

John was a younger son of Ferdinand of Antequera, elected king of Aragon (as Ferdinand I) in 1412. John and his brothers retained their positions and revenues in Castile,

Tequistlatec

2005-03-15T01:02:00.000-08:00

Indian people centred in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca estado (“state”), Mexico. Their subsistence is based on agriculture (staples are corn [maize], chilies, and beans), hunting, gathering, and animal husbandry. Towns and villages comprise one- and two-room houses, with a nuclear family generally occupying a single room. The communities are governed by adult males who

Arnold, Matthew

2005-03-13T23:03:00.000-08:00

The work that gives Arnold his high place in the history of literature and the history of ideas was all accomplished in the time he could spare from his official duties. His first volume of verse was The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems. By A. (1849); this was followed (in 1852) by another under the same initial: Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems. In 1853 appeared the first volume of poems

Gaelic Revival

2005-03-11T06:53:00.000-08:00

Resurgence of interest in Irish language, literature, history, and folklore inspired by the growing Irish nationalism of the early 19th century. By that time Gaelic had died out as a spoken tongue except in isolated rural areas; English had become the official and literary language of Ireland. The discovery by philologists of how to read Old Irish (written prior to 900) and

Conté, Nicolas-jacques

2005-03-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

At 14 he took up portrait painting, from which he derived a considerable income. Passionately interested in mechanical arts and science, he began displaying his inventive faculty during the French Revolution. With the supply

Tso Tsung-t'ang

2005-03-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Zuo Zongtang Chinese administrator and military leader, one of the scholar-officials who worked to suppress the great rebellions that threatened the imperial government during the second half of the 19th century. Tso's efforts helped revive the declining Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty (1644–1911/12) and reestablished the Chinese position in

Antbird

2005-03-04T05:25:00.000-08:00

Family name Formicariidae, any of numerous birds of the American tropics (order Passeriformes). There are about 230 species in more than 50 genera. Like their near relatives the Furnariidae, antbirds are highly diverse; all are of small to medium size (9.5 to 37 centimetres [4 to 14 inches]), with drab, fluffy plumage (sexes usually unlike); short, rounded wings; variable

Webster, Daniel

2005-03-02T10:10:00.000-08:00

During the postwar sectional crisis Webster nevertheless spoke out, March 7, 1850, in favour of Clay's compromise proposals, one of which would organize territories in the Mexican cession with no prohibition of slavery. His argument that such a prohibition was unnecessary because the West was geographically unsuitable for the plantation system pleased businessmen

Amber

2005-02-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

Amber occurs as irregular nodules, rods, or droplike shapes

Canaan Dog

2005-02-26T21:07:00.000-08:00

Breed of herding dog developed in Israel in the 20th century from semiwild pariah dogs that were the descendants of animals present in the region since biblical times. Over time they had been utilized as guardians and hunting dogs, but most had reverted to a wild state, living in desert areas. In the 1930s a breeding program was begun to redomesticate these wild dogs to serve

Jackson

2005-02-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1821) of Madison county, western Tennessee, U.S. It lies about 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Memphis. The area was settled about 1819 as a port on the Forked Deer River and developed as a cotton depot and railroad junction. First called Alexandria, the community was renamed in 1822 to honour General (later President) Andrew Jackson. It was used as a supply point by both Confederate and

Spruce Knob

2005-02-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

Highest point in West Virginia, U.S., located in the Allegheny Mountains in the eastern part of the state, about 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Elkins. Spruce Knob lies at an elevation of 4,863 feet (1,482 metres) at the southern end of Spruce Mountain, a ridge extending northeast-southwest along the western edge of Pendleton county. The peak, accessible by road from nearby Judy Gap, is within

Stagecoach

2005-02-21T23:09:00.000-08:00

Any public coach regularly travelling a fixed route between two or more stations (stages). Used in London at least by 1640, and about 20 years later in Paris, stagecoaches reached their greatest importance in England and the United States in the 19th century, where the new macadam roads made travel quicker and more comfortable. In the United States, coaches were the only means

Liquidity Preference

2005-02-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

In economics, the premium that wealth holders demand for exchanging ready money or bank deposits for safe, non-liquid assets such as government bonds. As originally employed by John Maynard Keynes, liquidity preference referred to the relationship between the quantity of money the public wishes to hold and the interest rate. According to Keynes, the public holds

Farinacci, Prospero

2005-02-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

After studying law at Padua and earning a reputation as an advocate,

China 1

2005-02-15T18:10:00.000-08:00

Also called Chicom 1 , or PRC 1 first Earth satellite orbited by the People's Republic of China. It was launched on April 24, 1970, from the rocket facility at Shuang Cheng Tsu, and it made China the fifth nation to place a satellite into Earth orbit. Little is known about China 1. It weighed approximately 173 kg (381 pounds) and carried a radio transmitter that broadcast a patriotic anthem.

Facta, Luigi

2005-02-12T02:11:00.000-08:00

After studying law, Facta became a journalist. He was elected deputy in 1891. He served as undersecretary first of justice and then of the interior in Giovanni Giolitti's coalition cabinet (1903–05). In succeeding ministries he was three times minister of finance

Maarib

2005-02-10T02:05:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Maariv, plural Maaribim, or Maarivim, Hebrew Ma'ariv (“who brings on twilight”), Jewish evening prayers recited after sunset; the name derives from one of the opening words of the first prayer. Maarib consists essentially of the Shema, with its accompanying benedictions, and the amidah. The Shema expresses the central theme of Jewish worship: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4), while the amidah is composed

Andrew Ii

2005-02-08T02:19:00.000-08:00

The son of Béla III, Andrew succeeded László III, his elder brother's son, on the throne in 1205. Powerful landed interests forced Andrew to spend royal funds so recklessly that the crown

Andrew Ii

2005-02-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

Extinct aquatic lizards that attained a high degree of adaptation to the marine environment and were distributed worldwide during the Cretaceous Period (144 million to 65 million years ago). The mosasaurs competed with other marine reptiles—the plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs—for food, which consisted largely of ammonoids, fish, and cuttlefish. Many mosasaurs of the

Nigeria

2005-02-04T01:11:00.000-08:00

The first national conventions of the five political parties that had been granted legal status were held in November 1996. The parties elected their leaders as follows:

Gtsang Dynasty

2005-02-02T05:16:00.000-08:00

Also spelled gTsang (c. 1565–1642), Chinese royal dynasty whose rule was centred in the province of Gtsang, or gTsang. The Gtsang was the last secular native ruling house in Tibet. After overthrowing the previous Rin-spung rulers of the country around 1565, the Gtsang kings allied themselves with the powerful Karma-pa, or Red Hat, order of Buddhists and opposed the new reformed Dge-lugs-pa, or Yellow Hat, Buddhists,

World War I, The Caucasus, 191416

2005-01-31T17:33:00.000-08:00

The Caucasian front between Russia and Turkey comprised two battlegrounds: Armenia in the west, Azerbaijan in the east. While the ultimate strategic objectives for the Turks were to capture the Baku oilfields in Azerbaijan and to penetrate Central Asia and Afghanistan in order to threaten British India, they needed first to capture the Armenian fortress of Kars,

Hui-kuan

2005-01-29T00:02:00.000-08:00

The hui-kuan were originated at Peking by the provincial guild of the southern Chinese province of Kwangtung.

Camaieu

2005-01-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

Plural Camaieux, painting technique by which an image is executed either entirely in shades of a single colour or in several tints unnatural to the object, figure, or scene represented. When a picture is monochromatically rendered in gray, it is called grisaille; when in yellow, cirage. Originating in the ancient world, camaieu was used in miniature painting to simulate cameos and

Aix-la-chapelle, Congress Of

2005-01-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

(Oct. 1–Nov. 15, 1818), the first of the four congresses held by Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and France to discuss and take common action on European problems following the Napoleonic Wars (1800–15). This congress (held at Aix-la-Chapelle—now Aachen, Ger.) was attended by Alexander I of Russia, Francis I of Austria, Frederick William III of Prussia, and their representatives. Great Britain

Fyodor I

2005-01-23T05:46:00.000-08:00

The son of Ivan IV the Terrible and his first wife, Anastasiya Romanovna Zakharina-Yureva, Fyodor succeeded his father on March 19, 1584. Being both physically weak and feebleminded, however, he took no part in government affairs, which were dominated by his wife's

Puerto Carreño

2005-01-22T09:40:00.000-08:00

Capital of Vichada departamento, eastern Colombia, situated at the junction of the Meta and Orinoco rivers, across from Puerto Páez, Venezuela. The easternmost of Colombia's urban centres and a potentially important port on the Orinoco River, the city is a collection centre for the cattle and livestock products, corn (maize), gums, and resins that are produced in the

Fabian, Saint

2005-01-20T13:06:00.000-08:00

Latin Fabianus pope from 236 to 250. The successor to St. Anterus, Fabian is said to have divided Rome into seven districts assigned to the seven deacons and to have founded several churches in France. His appointment of notaries to register the deeds of the martyrs reflected the increasing precision with which the Roman Catholic church began to keep records

Henry I

2005-01-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

Henry was the son of Alfonso VIII of Castile and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Henry II of England, after whom he was named. He was killed, while still a boy, by the fall of a tile from a roof. Sovereignty over Castile was then assumed by Alfonso VIII's cousin, Alfonso IX, king of Leon.

Ria

2005-01-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

Funnel-shaped estuary that occurs at a river mouth and is formed by the submergence of the lower portion of the river valley. Generally occurring along a rugged coast perpendicular to a mountain chain, many rias were formed by the rise in sea level after the melting of the vast continental glaciers. Rias are commonly very irregular and may have several branching

Insurance, Warranties

2005-01-14T15:46:00.000-08:00

Examples of expressed warranties are the FC&S warranty and the strike,

Sikhism, The Ten Gurus: Nanak and his tradition

2005-01-12T01:01:00.000-08:00

Nanak was born in 1469 in the village of Rai Bhoi di Talvandi, 40 miles (65 kilometres) from Lahore (in present-day Pakistan). His father was a revenue collector belonging to the Bedi (conversant with the Vedas—the revealed scriptures of Hinduism) subcaste of Ksatriyas (Warriors). Nanak received an education in traditional Hindu lore and in the rudiments of Islam. Early in life he began associating

Quantrill, William C.

2005-01-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

Growing up in Ohio, Quantrill taught school in Ohio and then Illinois and, in 1857, moved to Kansas,

Ava

2005-01-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

Ancient capital of central Myanmar (Burma), on the left bank of the Irrawaddy River at the Myitnge confluence. It is linked by a road and rail bridge, 5,894 feet (1,796 m) long, to the town of Sagaing; this is the only place where the Irrawaddy is bridged. Its name is a corruption of the Burmese Inwa, meaning “entrance to the lake.” The site was chosen in 1364 by the Shans who succeeded the Pagan dynasty.

Yupik Language

2005-01-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

The western division of the Eskimo languages, spoken in southwestern Alaska and in Siberia.

Germany, Insurance and services

2005-01-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

Health and retirement insurance are compulsory for all hourly workers and salaried employees earning below a certain level of income. Differing rules and rates apply to each group. Employees above a certain salary level or self-employed persons are generally exempt from most obligatory payment systems; however, although the former usually participate in a

Zuiderzee

2005-01-01T02:41:00.000-08:00

English Southern Sea former inlet of the North Sea. From the 13th to the 20th century, the Zuiderzee penetrated The Netherlands and occupied some 2,000 square miles (5,000 square km); it was separated from the North Sea by an arc of former sandflats that are now the West Frisian Islands. From about AD 400 these low-lying sandflats were inhabited by the Frisians, who in the face of rising sea levels built the first

Babur

2004-12-30T18:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Babar , or Baber , original name Zahir-ud-din Muhammad emperor (1526–30) and founder of the Mughal dynasty of India, a descendant of the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan and also of Timur (Tamerlane). He was a military adventurer and soldier of distinction and a poet and diarist of genius, as well as a statesman.

Babur

2004-12-29T02:23:00.000-08:00

India's second largest trade union federation after the Indian National Trade Union Congress. The AITUC was formed by the Indian National Congress (the central organ of the independence movement) in 1920 to represent India at the International Labour Organisation of the League of Nations. During the 1920s British communists, in trying to organize trade unions, gained control

Aeolus

2004-12-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, mythical king of Magnesia in Thessaly, the son of Hellen (the eponymous ancestor of the true Greeks, or Hellenes) and father of Sisyphus (the “most crafty of men”). Aeolus' daughter Canace and son Macareus committed incest and then took their own lives. Their story provided the subject of Euripides' lost Aeolus. Aeolus gave his name to Aeolis, a territory

Canaris, Wilhelm (franz)

2004-12-24T23:13:00.000-08:00

Having served in the navy during World War I, Canaris was a member of the military tribunal that sentenced the murderers of the German

Fuzuli, Mehmed Bin Süleyman

2004-12-22T14:16:00.000-08:00

A resident of Baghdad, Fuzuli apparently came from a family of religious officials and was well versed in the thought of his day, but very little is known about his life. Among his early patrons was Shah Esma'il I, founder of the Safavid dynasty of Iran and conqueror

Argentite

2004-12-20T09:54:00.000-08:00

Argentite, like several other sulfides, selenides, and tellurides of silver and copper, forms isometric crystals at high temperatures, but upon

Wivallius, Lars

2004-12-18T14:33:00.000-08:00

Wivallius studied at Uppsala and in 1625 left Sweden to travel in Germany, France, Italy, and England. Frequently posing as a nobleman, he swindled his way across Europe and was imprisoned for a time in Nürnberg, Germany. Back

Grease

2004-12-17T03:12:00.000-08:00

White grease is made from inedible hog fat and has a low content of free fatty acids. Yellow grease is made from darker parts of the hog and may include parts used to make white grease. Brown grease contains

Madagascar, Plant and animal life

2004-12-14T07:19:00.000-08:00

Much of the island was once covered with evergreen and deciduous forest, but little now remains except on the eastern escarpment and in scattered pockets in the west. The plateau is particularly denuded and suffers seriously from erosion. The forest has been cut in order to clear rice fields, to obtain fuel and building materials, and to export valuable timber, such

Cache Memory

2004-12-13T23:53:00.000-08:00

Also called Cache, a supplementary memory system that temporarily stores frequently used instructions and data for quicker processing by the central processor of a computer. The cache augments, and is an extension of, a computer's main memory. Both main memory and cache are internal, random-access memories (RAMs) that use semiconductor-based transistor circuits. Cache holds a copy

Shabbetai Tzevi

2004-12-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Shabbetai steeped himself in the influential body of Jewish mystical writings known as the Kabbala. His extended periods of ecstasy and his strong personality combined to attract

Zaltys

2004-12-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

On special occasions the snake was asked to the table to share the family meal from their

Mercantile Agency

2004-12-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

Specialized organization engaged in supplying information on the creditworthiness and financial strength of business firms in highly developed economies. The first such agency, the Mercantile Agency, was founded in New York City in 1841 to reduce credit losses. As businesses expanded from their local area to a national scale, many of them found it impossible to judge

1927, Generation Of

2004-12-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

Spanish Generación Del 1927, in Spain, a group of poets and other writers who rose to prominence in the late 1920s and who derived their collective name from the year in which several of them produced important commemorative editions of the poetry of Luis de Góngora y Argote on the tercentenary of his death. In contrast to the earlier Generation of '98, most of whom were prose writers, the members of the

Berchtold, Leopold, Count (graf) Von

2004-12-02T04:05:00.000-08:00

A wealthy landowner in Hungary and Moravia, Berchtold, through marriage, became one of the richest men in Austria-Hungary. He entered the diplomatic service in 1893, held posts in Paris and London, and in 1906 was appointed

Midfa'i, Jamil Al-

2004-12-01T00:36:00.000-08:00

Midfa'i attended the engineering college in Istanbul and became an artillery officer in the Turkish Army, from which he deserted in 1916 to join the Arab forces that had risen in revolt in Arabia under the direction of Sharif Husayn. Later, from a base in Syria, Midfa'i launched raids into Iraq, where there was considerable

Arrupe, Pedro

2004-11-29T06:20:00.000-08:00

Arrupe studied medicine at the University of Madrid, but, after witnessing the poverty in that city, he left school to join the Jesuits in 1927. When the Spanish government dissolved the Jesuit order in Spain in 1932, Arrupe continued his religious studies elsewhere in Europe and in the United States,

Cacus And Caca

2004-11-27T05:15:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, brother and sister, respectively, originally fire deities of the early Roman settlement on the Palatine Hill, where “Cacus' stairs” were later situated. The Roman poet Virgil described Cacus as the son of the flame god Vulcan and as a monstrous fire-breathing brigand who terrorized the countryside. He stole some of the giant Geryon's cattle from the

Wage And Salary

2004-11-25T18:49:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx accepted Ricardo's labour theory of value, but he subscribed to a subsistence theory of wages for a different reason than that given by the classical economists. In Marx's mind, it was not the pressure of population that drove wages to the subsistence level but rather the existence of a large army of unemployed, which he blamed on the capitalists. He stated

Madison River

2004-11-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

River in southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Madison River rises in the northwestern corner of Yellowstone National Park at the junction of the Gibbon and Firehole rivers. It flows west through Hebgen Lake (impounded by a dam) into southwestern Montana, then turns north between the Madison Range (to the east) and the Gravelly Range and the Tobacco

Arabia, History Of, The Ottomans

2004-11-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

In 1517 the Ottoman sultan Selim I conquered Egypt and proclaimed the Hejaz part of the Ottoman dominions. Sharif Barakat II of Mecca sent his son to negotiate at the Ottoman court and was confirmed as lord of the Holy Cities and Jiddah, subject to recognizing the Ottoman sultan as overlord. Selim's successor, Süleyman I the Magnificent, at the zenith of Ottoman power, munificently

Malan, Daniel F(rançois)

2004-11-18T20:38:00.000-08:00

Malan was educated at Victoria College, Stellenbosch, and at the University

Tabasco

2004-11-17T04:30:00.000-08:00

State, southeastern Mexico, bounded on the northwest by the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico, east by Campeche, southeast by Guatemala, south by Chiapas, and west by Veracruz. Tabasco's 9,756-sq-mi (25,267-sq-km) territory is generally low and flat, largely covered with lagoons and swamps but with a higher area in the south and southeast. It is drained by the Grijalva (also known as the

Kubaba

2004-11-14T07:52:00.000-08:00

Goddess of the ancient Syrian city of Carchemish. In religious texts of the Hittite empire (c. 1400–c. 1190 BC), she played a minor part and appeared mainly in a context of Hurrian deities and rituals. After the downfall of the empire her cult spread westward and northward, and she became the chief goddess of the successor kingdoms (the neo-Hittite states) from Cilicia to the Halys

Quadrature

2004-11-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, that aspect of a heavenly body in which its direction as seen from the Earth makes a right angle with the direction of the Sun. The Moon at First or Last Quarter is said to be at east or west quadrature, respectively. A superior planet (outside the Earth's orbit) is at west quadrature when its position is 90° west of the Sun. It rises around midnight, reaches the meridian

Pug

2004-11-11T20:29:00.000-08:00

Breed of toy dog that probably originated in China and was introduced to England near the end of the 17th century by Dutch traders. The pug has a short muzzle and a tightly curled tail. It is a squarely built, muscular dog, with a large head, prominent dark eyes, and small, drooping ears. At maturity, it stands 10 to 11 inches (25.5 to 28 centimetres) and weighs about 13 to 18 pounds (6 to 8 kilograms). Its

East Australian Current

2004-11-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

Surface oceanic current, a section of the counterclockwise flow in the Tasman Sea, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is formed by water masses from the Coral Sea—equatorial water driven by monsoonal winds from January to March and eastward subtropical flow from April to December—which pass southeast between the Great Barrier and Chesterfield reefs (20° S latitude), paralleling

Colijn, Hendrikus

2004-11-06T04:13:00.000-08:00

A soldier (1895–1904) in the colonial army during the Achinese War in northern Sumatra, Colijn later served there as a civil administrator, organizing government services and rubber plantations.

Argentina, The Pampas

2004-11-04T11:06:00.000-08:00

The Pampas region was originally inhabited by Indians such as the Querandí, who reportedly did not practice agriculture but were fishers and hunters who used bolas for entangling fleet-footed guanacos and rheas. Fierce attacks by the Querandí forced Spanish settlers in Buenos Aires to flee upriver to Asunción in 1541. After Buenos Aires reemerged in 1580, the Spanish showed

Nerchinsk, Treaty Of

2004-11-02T03:49:00.000-08:00

(1689), peace settlement between Russia and the Manchu Chinese empire that checked Russia's eastward expansion by removing its outposts from the Amur River basin. By the treaty's terms Russia lost easy access to the Sea of Okhotsk and Far Eastern markets but secured its claim to Transbaikalia (the area east of Lake Baikal) and gained the right of passage to Beijing for its

Gabinius, Aulus

2004-11-01T00:47:00.000-08:00

As tribune in 67 BC Gabinius proposed a law that gave Pompey command of the Mediterranean and all the land within 50 miles (81 km) of its coast as a means of controlling the depredations of pirates. Another Gabinian measure checked the lending of money to foreign ambassadors at Rome. Its

Molinet, Jean

2004-10-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

Molinet studied in Paris and about 1464 entered the service of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, becoming secretary to Georges Chastellain, chronicler

Olson, Charles (john)

2004-10-28T06:58:00.000-07:00

Olson was educated at Wesleyan University, where he earned an M.A. in 1933. He taught at Clark University, Harvard University, and Radcliffe College, but his real influence began in the late 1940s as an instructor and then as rector (1951–56) at Black

Tooke, John Horne

2004-10-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Born John Horne, the son of a poultry dealer, he assumed (1782) the additional surname Tooke to honour his friend

Rhys, Siôn Dafydd

2004-10-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Rhys spent some time at Oxford then earned a degree in medicine from the University of Siena, Italy. He practiced as a physician at Cardiff,

Islamic World, Trans-Saharan Islam

2004-10-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

When the Ottomans expanded through the southern Mediterranean coast in the early 16th century, they were unable to incorporate Morocco, where a new state had been formed in reaction to the appearance of the Portuguese. The Portuguese were riding the momentum generated by their own seaborne expansion as well as by the fulfillment of the Reconquista and the establishment

Ileum

2004-10-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

Final and longest segment of the small intestine. It is specifically responsible for the absorption of vitamin B12 and the reabsorption of conjugated bile salts. The ileum is about 4 m (13 feet) in length and extends from the jejunum (the middle section of the small intestine) to the ileocecal valve, which empties into the colon (large intestine). The ileum is suspended from

France, History Of, Religion

2004-10-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

Whether in countryside or town, the layperson's touch with Christ became more personal and more direct. The crusade was kept alive in France by the widely shared conviction of Jewish guilt and Muslim (and Byzantine) schism. The 13th was the last medieval century in which French Jews could live securely with their Christian neighbours, but their position became progressively

Hyperopia

2004-10-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

Also called Farsightedness, or Hypermetropia, visual defect in which the cornea and lens of the eye focus the image of the visual field at a point behind the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue lining the back and sides of the eye). The retina thus receives an unfocused image of near objects, though distant objects may be in focus. Hyperopia frequently occurs when an eye is shorter than normal from front to

Ear Disease, Exposure to noise

2004-10-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

The effects of noise exposure on hearing depend on the intensity and duration of the noise. The effects may be temporary or permanent. A single exposure to an extremely intense sound, such as an explosion, may produce a severe and permanent loss of hearing. Repeated exposures to sounds in excess of 80 to 90 decibels may cause gradual deterioration of hearing by destroying

Biblical Literature, The Assumption of Moses

2004-10-10T04:36:00.000-07:00

The Assumption of Moses originally contained apocalyptic material—no longer extant—in the form of a legend. According to Origen, the dispute between the archangel Michael and the devil for the body of Moses was narrated in the Assumption of Moses. This legend, which has parallels in the rabbinic literature, probably formed the end of the Assumption of Moses, the first

Irish Literary Renaissance

2004-10-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Flowering of Irish literary talent at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century that was closely allied with a strong political nationalism and a revival of interest in Ireland's Gaelic literary heritage. The renaissance was inspired by the nationalistic pride of the Gaelic revival (q.v.); by the retelling of ancient heroic legends in books such as the History

Siamese Fighting Fish

2004-10-05T05:16:00.000-07:00

(Betta splendens), freshwater tropical fish of the family Belontiidae (classified by some authorities as Anabantidae; order Perciformes), noted for the pugnacity of the males toward one another. The Siamese fighting fish, a native of Thailand, was domesticated there for use in contests. Combat consists mainly of fin nipping and is accompanied by a display of extended

Strasberg, Lee

2004-10-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

Strasberg's family emigrated to the United States when he was seven,

San Fernando

2004-10-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

Cabecera (principal built-up area) and partido (political subdivision) of Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Arg. It lies north of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires province, on the Río de la Plata estuary. Colonization of the area began with the second and permanent founding of Buenos Aires (1580). During this period the region was known as Costa de Monte Grande. In 1780 the parish of

Sicilian Vespers

2004-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

(1282) massacre of the French with which the Sicilians began their revolt against Charles I, Angevin king of Naples and Sicily; it precipitated a French-Aragonese struggle for possession of that kingdom. Its name derives from a riot that took place in a church outside Palermo at the hour of vespers on Easter Monday, March 30, 1282. Peter III of Aragon, Charles's rival for the Neapolitan

Andaman And Nicobar Islands, History

2004-09-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

The name Nicobar probably is derived from Nakkavaram (“Land of the Naked”). As with the Andamans, the Nicobars are located along a line of ancient trade routes. At various periods beginning in the 17th century, France, Denmark, Austria, and Great Britain all had obscure rights to the islands. In 1869 the Danes relinquished their claims to the British, who subsequently governed

Colet, John

2004-09-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

The son of a prosperous merchant who had been Lord Mayor of London, Colet studied mathematics and philosophy at Oxford and then travelled and studied for three years in France and Italy. He returned to England

Pendulum

2004-09-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

Body suspended from a fixed point so that it can swing back and forth under the influence of gravity. Pendulums are used to regulate the movement of clocks because the interval of time for each complete oscillation, called the period, is constant. The scientist Galileo first noted (c. 1583) the constancy of a pendulum's period by comparing the movement of a swinging lamp in

Pietas

2004-09-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

In Roman religion, personification of a respectful and faithful attachment to gods, country, and relatives, especially parents. Pietas had a temple at Rome, dedicated in 181 BC, and was often represented on coins as a female figure carrying a palm branch and a sceptre or as a matron casting incense upon an altar, sometimes accompanied by a stork, the symbol of filial piety.

Obversion

2004-09-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

In syllogistic, or traditional, logic, transformation of a categorical proposition (q.v.), or statement, into a new proposition in which (1) the subject term is unchanged, (2) the predicate is replaced by its contradictory, and (3) the quality of the proposition is changed from affirmative to negative or vice versa. Thus the obverse of “Every man is mortal” is “No man is immortal.” Because

Vratsa

2004-09-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Vratca >, or Vraca town, northwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the northern foothills of the western Balkan Mountains at the point where the Leva River emerges from its picturesque Vratsata gorge. The town was moved to its present position in the early 15th century after the Turks had destroyed a previously standing Bulgarian fortress. Under the Turks, Vratsa was a prosperous trading

Wolf Herring

2004-09-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

(Chirocentrus dorab), species of fish belonging to the family Chirocentridae (order Clupeiformes). It is exclusively marine in habitat, occurring in the Indian Ocean and in the western Pacific to Japan and eastern Australia. In contrast to other herrings, which feed on plankton, wolf herrings are carnivorous, attacking and eating other fish. Their jaws are equipped

Luria, Salvador

2004-09-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Luria graduated from the University of Turin in 1935 and became a radiology specialist. He fled Italy for France in 1938 and went to the United States

Pietro Della Vigna

2004-09-11T03:43:00.000-07:00

Born in the mainland part of the kingdom of Sicily to a poor family (his parents were said to have been

Silicon Carbide

2004-09-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

Exceedingly hard, synthetically produced crystalline compound of silicon and carbon. Its chemical formula is SiC. Since the late 19th century silicon carbide has been an important material for sandpapers, grinding wheels, and cutting tools. More recently, it has found application in refractory linings and heating elements for industrial furnaces, in wear-resistant

Arundel

2004-09-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

Arundel

Celluloid

2004-09-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

The first synthetic plastic material, developed by the American inventor John Wesley Hyatt in the late 1860s from a homogeneous colloidal dispersion of cellulose nitrate and camphor. A tough material, with great tensile strength, resistance to water, oils, and dilute acids, capable of low-cost production in a variety of colours, it found a great variety of applications

Toothwort

2004-09-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

Any of about 10 species of perennial herbs belonging to the genus Dentaria, of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to northern temperate areas. The name toothwort refers to the plant's toothed, or scaly, rootstock. The four-petaled flowers, borne in a terminal cluster, are white, pink, or pale purple. Toothwort, pepperwort, or crinklewort (D.

Einsteinium

2004-08-30T02:16:00.000-07:00

(Es), synthetic chemical element of the actinide series in Group IIIb of the periodic table, atomic number 99. Not occurring in nature, einsteinium (as the isotope einsteinium-253), produced by intense neutron irradiation of uranium-238, was identified in December 1952 by Albert Ghiorso and co-workers at Berkeley, Calif., in debris taken from the first thermonuclear or hydrogen-bomb

SmoothCloud

Estate Agent London

Mystery Religion, The Hellenistic period

John Ii

Tequistlatec

Arnold, Matthew

Gaelic Revival

Conté, Nicolas-jacques

Tso Tsung-t'ang

Antbird

Webster, Daniel

Amber

Canaan Dog

Jackson

Spruce Knob

Stagecoach

Liquidity Preference

Farinacci, Prospero

China 1

Facta, Luigi

Maarib

Andrew Ii

Andrew Ii

Nigeria

Gtsang Dynasty

World War I, The Caucasus, 191416

Hui-kuan

Camaieu

Aix-la-chapelle, Congress Of

Fyodor I

Puerto Carreño

Fabian, Saint

Henry I

Ria

Insurance, Warranties

Sikhism, The Ten Gurus: Nanak and his tradition

Quantrill, William C.

Ava

Yupik Language

Germany, Insurance and services

Zuiderzee

Babur

Babur

Aeolus

Canaris, Wilhelm (franz)

Fuzuli, Mehmed Bin Süleyman

Argentite

Wivallius, Lars

Grease

Madagascar, Plant and animal life

Cache Memory

Shabbetai Tzevi

Zaltys

Mercantile Agency

1927, Generation Of

Berchtold, Leopold, Count (graf) Von

Midfa'i, Jamil Al-

Arrupe, Pedro

Cacus And Caca

Wage And Salary

Madison River

Arabia, History Of, The Ottomans

Malan, Daniel F(rançois)

Tabasco

Kubaba

Quadrature

Pug

East Australian Current

Colijn, Hendrikus

Argentina, The Pampas

Nerchinsk, Treaty Of

Gabinius, Aulus

Molinet, Jean

Olson, Charles (john)

Tooke, John Horne

Rhys, Siôn Dafydd

Islamic World, Trans-Saharan Islam

Ileum

France, History Of, Religion

Hyperopia

World War I, The Caucasus, 191416